Hi Melissa,
I feel your pain with the luggage prices on the airlines these days. When my sister and I flew for our cruise this past January, since it was only 4 nights we were able to actually not check any luggage! It wasn’t hard for me because I have become really good at packing since I’ve gone on 10-13 day trips to Europe a few times where you are responsible for carrying you own luggage onto planes, trains, buses, and up many flights of stairs since many European hotels don’t have elevators (or they have one tiny one that fits like 1-2 people), so I’ve been able to perfect my packing to be able to fit enough close even for 10 days into a carryon on size rolling suitcase. It can be done. However, I don’t plan on doing that for this trip since we are doing 3 days at WDW, then 7 nights on the cruise, and I’ll need so many different kinds of outfits (pirate, formal, beach, excursion, theme park, etc). I know I COULD do it, but I don’t feel like taking the extra time and sacrificing some of the “extra” things I can bring if I check a suitcase instead. At least we are driving to WDW next month so we don’t have to pay for airfare or bags, so I’m not too bummed about checking bags for the January trip.
That said, the best advice I can give you to save space in luggage is to either purchase those Space Saver bags (I’ve never used them but heard from others that they work wonders), or do what I do: I roll up each article of clothing to save space. It sounds silly but it actually leaves them less wrinkled than folding them flat, and takes up much less space. I try to also only bring 1 pair of dress shoes to match every outfit I wear at night for dinner, like a neutral color or black ones to cut down on space since shoes are so bulky. Also if you don’t mind using the ships brand of toiletries (H2O, which many people rave about) you can leave your own shampoo, conditioner at home.
Regarding your disappointment about the hotel and restaurant you went to in Memphis, how did you pick those places? Were you referred by friends/family, or just randomly picked them, or did you read any reviews ahead of time? I am obsessed with using Trip Advisor for restaurant and hotel reviews. Some times I think people are dead wrong in their summaries of places (ie- they said it was awful and I loved it, or they said it was great and I hated it), but more often than not I find the advice pretty spot on so I always do my research before I go.
As far as being disappointed with the
Disney cruise, I seriously doubt you will be. I think you should set your expectations high because you should expect good things from Disney. your family loves Disney so you will love the atmosphere, the characters, the shows, and of course
Castaway Cay. As far as the rooms, yes it is true they are about 12 years old but they have been refurbished in dry dock before, and I always felt very impressed with my stateroom…I thought it looked just as good in January 2009 as it did on my first cruise in March 2004. Very clean, everything worked, very nice. The door was a little worn looking on the outside but I didn’t care since I had magnets covering it from top to bottom!
The only thing that I am concerned about is the food since we’ve been following that “Better not be cruising for the food” thread…but even then I’m not too worried because first of all I seriously think if it is that bad and
DCL is surely getting wind of the complaints, that there is a good chance things will be different by January, but even if not, I have no doubt that I’ll be able to find something to eat each night.
Hope I have alleviated some of your worries!
-Nicole
trying to get everyone's final payments in for my School at Sea cruise out of Galveston this September. Geesh!! Trying to get schoolwork completed, 
get my DS David to his hockey games 
... and he just got braces this week!! 
And trying to meet with my teen troop to schedule their Gold Award requirements 
... I thought I would be way behind here 
or is everyone just as busy as I am this week 
while I watch the hockey game - GO DUCKS!! 
I am trying to decide re: formal night. We went all out last time, there was such a mix. Some went really form
but will be about 6mo. Our last 
for so long so I guess not really a parents only trip) Also, DS 11 was given the choice of a summer camp or going on the cruise, about the same cost as we would have had to add another cabin on, he chose the summer camp. We are also hoping to book another cruise with him included while on the ship, need to get that discount as we did not do it on the last cruise
It was my first cruise and I have been eager to go on another ever since.
